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Sharp Unveils First Quattron 3D LCD TVs

— Sharp is using CEDIA Expo to introduce its
first two 3D-capable Quattron 1080p edge-lit LED LCD
TVs for the U.S. market.

The company’s new flagship sets, which are part of the
LE925 series, will be available prior to the holiday selling
season in the 52- and 60-inch screen sizes. Both use
Sharp’s exclusive Quattron four-color technology, which
introduces yellow pixels along with the red, green and blue
primary colors to give the sets brighter picture performance
with enhanced color depth, particularly in the yellow and
green spectrums.

Bruce Tripido, Sharp entertainment products marketing
associate VP, said that one of shortcomings of many 3D
products on the market now is a reduced brightness output
for a variety of reasons, including the use of shaded activeshutter
glasses. Sharp’s technology is allegedly able to get
around many of those limitations.
“

Quattron dovetails well into 3D because of the brightness
element,” said Tripido. “These Sharp 3D panels will
be noticeably brighter than the other 3D panels that are on
the market. While we were not a part of the initial launch of
the 3D medium this year, I think the fact that we are coming
out a little bit later but before the holiday timeframe with
the best technology, puts us where we’d like to be with it.”

Sharp’s new 3D sets were also engineered to eliminate
some of the cross-talk artifact issues that have been noticed
in reviews of several competitors’ models, he said.

Both models will ship to dealers in late September at
prices to be announced later. Sharp said it will pack two
pairs of active-shutter glasses with each LE925-series TV
model.

“Our glasses are unique in that they allow you switch
over from 3D to 2D mode,” Tripido pointed out. “So if the
content on the screen is 3D content, but for some reason one of viewers would rather watch in 2D, they can switch
the glasses to 2D mode to watch a clear picture without
actually switching the content on the set back to 2D.”

Tripido said Sharp anticipates at some people may
find discomfort in watching a 3D image, and this 2D solution
will give viewers the chance to continue watching
the same program along with others in the room.

The sets also introduce a unique feature called
Frame Rate Enhanced Driving, which is said to
change out the source drivers used in 240Hz framerate
technology to a single-source wiring technology
to achieve the same smooth-motion effect.

“Whereas most 240Hz drive circuits utilize two
signal lines and have what is called parallel driving,
the Frame Rate Enhanced Driving circuit uses single
source wiring which lowers the power consumption
of the TV,” Tripido said. “At the same time the aperture
ratio is improved by 10 percent, delivering higher
brightness because there is less circuitry running
through the middle of a pixel.”

This, combined with increased brightness from
the yellow element in the four-color pixel technology,
boosts panel brightness output for 3D and 2D presentations,
he said.

The brightness improvement presents no trade off
in contrast performance, he said, adding that the dynamic
contrast ratio on both models is 8M:1.

Cosmetics in the LE925 models is said to be similar to the
920 series, offering full-front glass across the entire façade of
the screen, accompanied by a tempered glass-looking stand.

Distribution on the elite models will be handled through
assisted sales environments, including Magnolia, and
“Sharp A-channel” distribution partners.

To support the sets, Sharp will also introduce two new
3D Blu-ray Disc players: the BD-HP80 and BD-HP90.
Both are 1080p 3D-capable players with built-in Wi-Fi connectivity
for BD-Live and streaming media services, including
Netflix, Vudu Movies, Pandora music and YouTube video.
Both players will be DLNA-compliant via a forthcoming
software update, and will be compatible with CDs, DVDs,
DiVX format videos, MP3 files and JPEGs images.

Both feature a slim-design style and can be mounted
either horizontally or vertically. The BD-HP90 ships with a
stand to mount the player vertically, and includes an RS-
232 port for integration control. Both players will ship in
late September at pricing to be announced.

Sharp is also unveiling its first 3D capable single-chip
DLP front projector – model XV-Z17000, which is slated to
ship to dealers in January 2011. It will feature FullHD 1080p
resolution, 1,600 lumens of brightness, a 10,000:1 contrast
ratio, and will ship with two pairs of active-shutter 3D
glasses, though these will be of a different design than the
glasses used in the Quattron LED LCD TVs, Tripido said.

Further details may be available by the time demonstrations
begin at CEDIA.